Spiced Pork with Balsamic Vinegar and Ginger

Spiced Pork with Balsamic Vinegar and Ginger

Having quite a bit of the ginger dip left-over and not too keen on having Hainanese Chicken again so soon, I decided to make Spiced Pork with Balsamic Vinegar and Ginger. I've never done any confinement after the birth of my 3 children so I have never eaten any Chinese confinement food either, but I like the idea of cooking with vinegar (in this case balsamic) and ginger. Actually I've blogged about a similar dish before though it was a much sweeter version. As pork goes well with spices like cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika and cumin, I've decided to cook this dish with them all. There was a nice smell in the kitchen when the stew was simmering on the stove.

Spiced Pork with Balsamic Vinegar and Ginger :

Lean Pork cut into cubes

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Sugar

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Cloves

Ground Turmeric

Ground Paprika

5 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Onion

Ginger paste (minced ginger and sesame oil)

Garlic

Cumin Seeds

Mustard Seeds

Chilli (fresh or dried)

Tomatoes

Marinate the pork with the salt, sugar, ground spices and balsamic vinegar for a few hours.

Marinating the pork

Heat some olive oil in a pot and fry onions, ginger paste, garlic and cumin and mustard seeds till they are fragrant but not burnt. Add in the marinated pork pieces and brown them in the spice mixture. Add in the chilli and diced tomatoes and stir well.

Pour in enough warm or hot water to cover the pork, cover and simmer on low heat for at least an hour or till pork is very tender.

As this is a fusion dish, you can serve it with Indian breads, Jasmine rice, mashed potatoes, boiled cauliflower or even pasta. The end result is a tender pork stew that is slightly spicy and acidic. The Babies loved it and had seconds.

I'm busy packing and planning for my next holiday, which would be to Valencia in Spain. I'll be taking the 3 monsters with me this time, but now that it's getting so cold here in Modena, we would welcome the 12-26°C forecast for Valencia next week. I love this city the last few times I was there and even though we wouldn't be able to swim in the sea, it'll be just as nice walking along the long (free) stretch of sandy beach and eating grilled seafood in one of the restaurants lining it. Not to forget their famous paella. It will also be nice to see how their City of the Arts and Sciences has developed over the years. Only problem is that ever since I started learning Italian I've lost my Spanish. Would have to do a bit of revision this weekend.